The Endless Roster Limits Debate

A proposal to phase-in the new roster limits has emerged, but questions remain

April 30, 2025

With NCAA-House Settlement Hanging in Balance, a New Roster Limit Proposal Has Emerged
Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reports: “During meetings this week among NCAA and power conference executives and attorneys, a proposal to phase-in the new roster limits has emerged, multiple sources tell Yahoo Sports. However, no plan has been finalized…

“Such a move — the grandfathering-in of roster positions — comes with a bevy of questions, concerns and uncertainties.

• “Will schools be mandated to grandfather-in roster positions? Or will it be voluntary?

• “What of players who have already transferred elsewhere? What happens to recruits who signed with other schools because their original commitment wasn’t honored?

• “And, most notably, how exactly will the judge react to whatever proposal is put forward?”
  ^{Yahoo! Sports}

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Report: Eli Manning Eyeing Bid for Stake in Giants
Former NFLer Eli Manning is “putting together an investment group to bid for a piece” of the N.Y. Giants, according to sources. In February, the Giants announced the Mara and Tisch families had retained Moelis & Co. to explore the potential sale of a minority, non-controlling stake in the franchise. Manning, who led the team to its last Super Bowl victory in 2012, “has spoken to individual investors including retired NFL players,” sources said.
^{Sports Business Journal}

WME Looks to Sell Off Baseball Agency Due to Union Pressure
FOS’ Eric Fisher writes, “A long-simmering conflict of interest in baseball is coming to a head as talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME) is now looking to sell its baseball representation business and exit the sport, sources told FOS. The forthcoming move arrives after WME parent company Endeavor completed a long-planned move to become a private company again, and is now controlled by majority shareholder Silver Lake.
^{Front Office Sports}

NFL Draft Breaks Viewership Record on Saturday Amid Shedeur Sanders' Slide, Up 27% From Last Year
Yahoo Sports’ Ryan Young reports: “The league and ESPN announced on Tuesday that the NFL Draft was the second most-watched draft in history. Only the 2020 NFL Draft, which came during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, performed better. An average of a out 7.5 million people tuned in to watch the draft across all channels this spring, which is up 27% from last year.”
^{Yahoo! Sports}

Report: SNY Exploring Possible Sale
SNY, the broadcast home of the Mets, is “exploring potential deals including an outright sale,” according to sources. SNY has “hired bankers at Moelis to conduct a process to find new financial backers.” The process is “expected to generate interest from a range of potential investors,” including other regional sports networks and private-equity firms. Mets owner Steve Cohen would “also likely be interested.”
^{Wall Street Journal via Sports Business Journal}

ESPN’s NBA Playoffs Audience Reaching Record Highs
ESPN is generating its highest NBA Playoffs audience across its platforms, according to Nielsen. ESPN platforms are averaging 4.448 million viewers, up 13% from last year through 11 games. Last weekend’s games, the second weekend of the playoffs, averaged 5.462 million viewers on ESPN platforms, up 4% from 2024. Game 4 between the Lakers and T’Wolves on Sunday led this past weekend’s viewership, averaging 7.345 million viewers to become the second-most watched Round 1, Game 4 ever on ESPN platforms. It peaked at 10.274 million viewers at 6:30pm ET (ESPN).
^{ESPN via Sports Business Journal}

Sources: NASCAR’s Phelps, TaylorMade’s Abeles Among PGA Tour’s Top CEO Targets
SBJ’s Adam Stern and Josh Carpenter report: “The PGA Tour’s search for a CEO is now several months in, and while no final decision is imminent, some of the options in play have begun making the rounds in golf circles.

“Five senior golf industry sources with knowledge of the search have identified NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps as a name that the tour has shown interest in. Two people familiar with the matter also named TaylorMade President & CEO David Abeles as a possible candidate.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Kings Reportedly Finalizing Long-Term Deal to Retain Interim Coach Doug Christie
Sacramento Kings coach Doug Christie took over as the team's interim head coach after Mike Brown was fired in December. The Kings were 13-18 at the time. Things improved under Christie's guidance. The Kings went 27-24 the rest of the way and showed a much-improved offense with Christie in charge.
^{Yahoo! Sports}

U.S. Figure Skating Hires Matt Farrell as CEO
SBJ’s Rachel Axon writes, “Matt Farrell hadn’t been looking for a new role, content with running his own business when Elevate Talent called two months ago. But the veteran of the Olympic movement knew a good opportunity when he saw one. Farrell will take over as CEO of U.S. Figure Skating, giving one of the larger national governing bodies in the Winter Games a new leader with nine months to go until the Milan Cortina Olympics.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Rick Tocchet Won’t Return as Vancouver Canucks Head Coach
“I’m choosing to move on from the Vancouver Canucks,” said Tocchet in the release, which went on to thank Canucks players, ownership, support staff, media and the fans. “Family is a priority, and with my contract lapsing, this becomes the opportune time. While I don’t know where I’m headed, or exactly how this will play out for me over the near term, I feel like this is the right time for me to explore other opportunities in and around hockey.”
^{The Athletic}

Orlando Baseball Bid Backers Revealed: Rick Workman, John Morgan
The Orlando Sentinel’s Ryan Gillespie reports: “A dental magnate and the owner of the nation’s largest personal injury law firm are among the financial backers of the effort hoping to lure Major League Baseball to Orlando. Rick Workman, the founder of Heartland Dental, has committed to be the ‘anchor investor’ of the Orlando Dreamers...

“The Dreamers announced last week they’d raised about $2.5 billion toward the big league pursuit – about $1.5 billion toward acquiring a franchise and another $1 billion toward building a stadium – but hadn’t revealed who was bankrolling the bid, leading to some skepticism about their credibility.”
^{The Orlando Sentinel}

Honda Center Set for Privately Funded, $1.1B Reno
OC Sports & Entertainment (OCSE) has commenced a $1.1B renovation of the Honda Center in Anaheim, a privately-funded project that will spruce up the 31-year-old, city-owned home of the NHL’s Ducks. The Samueli family, which owns the Ducks, is solely funding the arena project and the $4B OCVibe mixed-use development that’s being built in 95 acres surrounding the arena.
^{Sports Business Journal}

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Pac-12 Looking Ahead to Next Steps After Securing 2025 Football Media Deal
SBJ’s Ben Portnoy writes, “The Pac-12 is in the process of rebuilding following the latest round of conference realignment, and the league took a big step forward Tuesday with the finalization of its 2025 football media deal with CBS, ESPN and The CW.

“The league is slated to add Boise State, San Diego State, Utah State, Colorado State and Fresno State from the Mountain West, along with Gonzaga as a non-football playing member in 2026. It will also need to add one more football-playing member as NCAA rules stipulate a conference must have eight schools in order to be recognized as a league.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Trump Administration Says Penn Violated Title IX by Allowing Transgender Swimmer
The Athletic’s Lauren Merola reports: “The Trump administration said Monday that the University of Pennsylvania violated Title IX by letting a transgender swimmer compete on the school’s women’s team and enter into women’s facilities. It gave Penn 10 days to voluntarily resolve the violations, proposing that Penn do so by stripping Lia Thomas — a transgender woman who formerly swam on the Penn women’s team from the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons — of her national championship.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

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